Wu Zetian had a trick that made the emperor infatuated, what was the result when Cixi followed it?

Wu Zetian and Empress Dowager Cixi are known as the two most powerful queens in Chinese history. They both possessed a strange attraction to the emperors, gaining favor and maintaining their positions.

In the feudal era, the idea of male superiority over female was deeply ingrained in the people's thinking. Everyone implicitly understood that women could not become political pillars. However, there was still a "beauty" who changed the situation, that was Wu Zetian - the first female emperor in Chinese history.

She even used just one trick to make Emperor Li Zhi unable to leave. What was it?

Wu Zetian was born in 624 in the capital Chang'an, the second daughter in her family. Her father accumulated a large fortune through the timber trade, which helped the family live a comfortable life. Thanks to that, her children also grew up in a free and comfortable environment.

When Li Yuan (later Emperor Gaozu of Tang) served the Sui Dynasty, he was assigned to govern the Taiyuan and Hedong regions (a provincial capital of China). He stayed at the Wu family's house many times. Over time, he became good friends with Wu Zetian's father.

The year Li Yuan decided to revolt, Wu Zetian's father provided a lot of mone.y and supplies. After Li Yuan successfully established the Tang Dynasty, he appointed his friend as the Duke of Yingguo. Wu Zetian's status from being a merchant's daughter suddenly became that of a high-ranking official from then on.

Possessing an extraordinary beauty, at the ag.e of 14 (Zhenguan year), she was recruited into the palace to become a concubine of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin. At that time, Wu Zetian had an extraordinary appearance, so Emperor Taizong appointed her as a fifth-rank talented person, and gave her the title "Wu Mei", later people called her Wu Meiniang.

In the harem, Wu Meiniang was loved by Li Shimin thanks to her profound knowledge and outstanding beauty. In the 17th year of Zhenguan (643), Emperor Taizong of Tang deposed Crown Prince Li Chengqian and established Jin King Li Zhi as Crown Prince. Li Zhi and Wu Meiniang developed feelings for each other during this time.

In 649, Emperor Taizong of Tang died of illness. Wu Zetian followed the harem custom and became a nun. Crown Prince Li Zhi ascended the throne, becoming Emperor Gaozong of Tang. Later, Emperor Gaozong met Wu Zetian again at Ganye Temple. Their relationship grew even deeper, even though she was nearly 30 years old.

When ag.e was no longer an obvious advantage, what attracted the emperor's attention? The answer could only be her outstanding beauty. In 651, Wu Zetian was welcomed into the palace. In the 5th year of Yonghui (654), in the first month, Wu Zetian, then Zhaoyi, gave birth to a daughter, Princess Andingsi, but died shortly after.

According to two books compiled during the Song Dynasty, New Book of Tang and Zizhi Tongjian, both clearly show that Wu Zetian herself had harmed her own daughter with the intention of harming Empress Wang, which was one of the reasons why Emperor Gaozong wanted to depose the empress and replace her with her.

When Emperor Gaozong of Tang was in his 40s, his health declined, and he often suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. His poor health made it difficult to approve memorials. In order to stabilize the court, he assigned Wu Zetian the task of approving memorials and taking care of state affairs.

During Wu Zetian's reign, the Tang Dynasty's politics and economy both developed smoothly. She held power for more than ten years. Worried that her son would not be able to rule the country, Emperor Gaozong of Tang made Wu Zetian the regent after his deat.h. But at this time, her power in the court was too great, and she increasingly craved power and wanted to become the supreme leader.

Wu Zetian's ruthless and unscrupulous methods also began to be revealed. That year, when Shangguan Yi and Emperor Gaozong discussed deposing the Empress, the news was leaked. Wu Zetian found out and immediately questioned Emperor Gaozong. The Emperor had no choice but to put all the blame on Shangguan Yi. Not long after, Shangguan Yi's entire family was kille.d.

After Li Zhi's deat.h, her cruelty became more evident than ever. She deposed her sons one by one. At the ag.e of 68, Wu Zetian finally ascended the throne as Emperor, becoming the first female emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

This action of hers left a deep impression on posterity.

Wu Zetian was able to gradually rise from a fifth-rank talented person to become the first female emperor in Chinese history thanks to her ambition and unique ability to handle politics. And Wu Zetian probably did not expect that thousands of years later, another woman would also apply her method and achieve similar results. That was Empress Dowager Cixi.

Empress Dowager Cixi came from the Yehe Nala clan. She was well educated and had exceptional talent from a young ag.e. At the ag.e of 17, Cixi participated in the selection of concubines to enter Emperor Xianfeng's harem. Thanks to her outstanding beauty, she was appointed as Lan Guiren. Her speed of advancement in the harem surprised many. Only two years after entering the palace, she became Yixin.

At the ag.e of 21, Empress Dowager Cixi gave birth to Emperor Xianfeng's only son. "Mothers are precious thanks to their children", she was quickly promoted to Imperial Noble Consort Yi. However, at that time, Emperor Xianfeng was facing a situation of "internal and external enemies", internal peasant uprisings were continuously occurring, and external Western powers were threatening to invade.

This situation caused Emperor Xianfeng to be very stressed out, and his health was also deteriorating. He was unable to handle state affairs himself, so Cixi, who was good at calligraphy, often wrote memorials for him. Because he had to approve so many memorials, Emperor Xianfeng later allowed her to add her own opinions.

Like Wu Zetian, Cixi managed the affairs of state well, to the satisfaction of Emperor Xianfeng. As time went on, the Emperor gave her more and more power, making it increasingly impossible for him to leave her. After his deat.h, Cixi was again entrusted with the task of regency.

However, when her son ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Cixi became increasingly power-hungry. She gradually eliminated her opponents and became the real power holder of the Qing Dynasty. After that, the old Buddha also held the power to decide the successor to the throne, and no one could threate.n her position.

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